Reinforcing and hinge plate for cars.



L. G. MILLER & E. C. LONG.

REINFORCING AND HINGE PLATE FOR CARS. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 4. 1911..

1,251,688. Patented Jan. 1,1918.

i Q 1 Q, Q @I an narrator onirron LOUIS G. MILLER AND EDWARD G. LONG, F WESTMGN'I' BOROUGH, PENNSYLVANIA.

EEENFORCING AND HINGE PLATE FOR CABS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 1, 1918.

Application filed September 1, 1917. Serial No. 189,479.

I To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, Lonrs G. MILLER and EDWARD G. LONG, citizens of the United States, and residents of the Borough of Westmont, in the county of Cambria and State of Pennsylvania, whose post-oiiice addresses are Johnstown, Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Reinforcing and Hinge Plates for Cars; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

Our invention relates to the construction of hoppers used around the discharging openings of cars and particularly in those cars made of steel or other metal, and has for its object to provide a member which, by reason of its design and construction, combines several functions in one structure, thereby conducing to lightness, economy of labor and material and efficiency for the purpose intended.

Our invention relates generally to strengthening the lower edge portion of the material surrounding the discharge openings of hopper bottom cars, the metal plate material of which is made as light as possible, but which, on account of the door hinges secured thereto and the loads and shocks which this portion has to carry, should be reinforced to prevent failure or deformation. We accomplish our purpose by applying to or near the lower edge of the hopper sheet of a car, or the floor sheet ofa gondola car, a reinforce ing plate and hinge combined, which at once serves two purposes and all portions aid the other parts in strengthening the structure, which is not the case in prior constructions of this kind.

Having thus given a general description of our invention, we will now, in order to make the matter more clear, refer to the annexed sheet of drawings, which forms part of this specification and in which like characters refer to like parts; Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal sectional elevation through the hopper and doors of a portion of a car taken on the line III-III of Fig. 2; Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse sectional elevation taken on the line II-II of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is an enlarged detailsectional elevationv of a portion of the'hopper and door taken on the line III-III of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a top plan view of our combined reinforcing hinge plate; Fig. 5 is a side elevation of our combined reinforcing hinge plate, the door hinges being shown in section; and Fig. 6 is an end elevation of our combined reinforcing hinge plates.

Referring now to the characters of reference on the drawings :1 is that portion of the car in general including the hopper and door, 2 are the side hopper sheets thereof, 3 is the central ridge, a and 5 are the transverse hopper sheets, 6 is our reinforcing hinge plate in general, all parts of which are formed integral and which may be ,a steel or malleable iron casting, which is provided with openings 7 for the purpose of lightening the construction thereof, 8 is the forwardflanged edge of the hinge plate which projects downwardly, as shown, along the lower edge of the same, 9 is the rear flanged edge of the hinge plate, which, as

illustrated, .is deeper in the middle than at the ends and projects downwardly for a considerable distance in order to make a strong girder structure, 10 are transverse ribs extending from the rear flange to the forward flange and projecting downwardly, these ribs being provided with bosses 11 and also being provided with holes 13 therethrough, while 12 are the door hinges which are the usual strap hinges, one end of which is bent and surrounds the hinge pin 14 while their other ends are riveted to the door 15, as illustrated.

It should be noted that the forward flange 8 is of considerably less depth than the rear flange 9 in order to provide ample clearance for the door which is adjacent to the for-. ward flange. The rear flange 9, which is removed from the door flanges, is made quite deep and of .fish-bellied construction to provide strength and stifiness vto the structure. The flanges 8 and 9 may also extend aroundthe, ends of the plate as illustrated.

Our hinged reinforcing plate is firmly riveted or bolted to or near the lower edge of the hopper or floor plates 4: and 5, as illustrated, and serves to strengthen and stiffen thesame while at the same time providing integral hinges on which the door 15 not wish to be limited to the exact details of construction specified, but we may use such substitutions, modifications or equivalents thereof as are embraced within the scope of our invention as pointed out in the claims.

Having thus described our invention, What we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. The combination with the floor sheet of a car, of a reinforcing hinge plate secured near the edge thereof, said plate being provided with a fiat portion contiguous to said floor sheet with downwardly projecting flanges on the longitudinal edges thereof,

and transversely'extending ribs provided with openings therein adapted to receive the hinge pin.

2. The combination with a floor sheet or a car, of a reinforcing hinge plate secured near the edge thereof, comprising a fiat portion contiguous to the lower side of said plate, downwardly extending flange portions extending longitudinally thereof, the flange farthest removed from the door being deeper menses than the other, and means formed integral with said plate for mounting the hinge pin thereon. I

3. The combination with a metal car, of a combined reinforcing and hinge plate secured thereto, said plate comprising a flat portion adjacent to the underside of the car floor, downwardly projecting flanges longitudinally extending fromthe edges thereof,

transverse ribs extending downwardly from the plate portion and provided with registering openings therein, adapted to receive the hinge pins.

4. A combined reinforcing and hinge plate for cars, comprising a flat portion arranged contiguous to the lower side of the car bottom adj acent to the discharge opening thereof, said plate being provided with downwardly projecting flanges extending around the edges thereof, a pair of transverse downwardly extending ribs spaced apart and provided with registering holes therethrough near each end of said plate, the portions of said plate adjacent said ribs being wider than the other portions.

In witness whereof we hereunto ajiiix our signatures.

LGUIS G. MILLER. EDWARD LQNG. 

